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Ellana Lavellan
Ellana Lavellan (born 9:11 Dragon) is an Dalish mage, the Second of clan Lavellan of the Free Marches. In the canon of Inquisitor Evelyn Trevelyan, she is an agent of the Inquisition and companion to the Inquisitor. Overview Physical Appearance Ellana Lavellan, despite her stature, has never been a delicate beauty. She is all harsh lines--- sharp cheekbones and a pointed chin, an often scowling mouth and slanted eyes. No, it would not be right to call her pretty. Yet she is striking all the same. Her copper hair, it’s curls hidden by the ponytail she so often wears, falls to her mid-back, and her eyes are of an unsettling gold. She bears the vallaslin of Mythal, the tattoo stark white against her russet skin. Personality There is something odd about that Ellana Lavellan. It’s in the way she carries herself, leaving nary a footprint in her wake. The glint in those golden eyes, as though she is taking your measure, deciding just which way she will take you down. Even that lilt to her voice--- have you ever known an elf to speak in such a growl? Ellana has never been soft, never been sweet. Some may look at her and see fire, but those who know her will tell you the truth. Ice will burn you just the same. Ellana is cutthroat, cold. She can be selfish, has been cruel. She struggles with emotion, has trouble with tact. Even so, she is not without heart. She loves fiercely, is loyal to a fault, and has an endless wealth of compassion for those she feels have earned it. Adventurous and bold, brilliant and audacious, the few friends she has will not easily leave her side. 'Talents and Skills' As the Second of her clan, Ellana’s magical prowess is expected. She showed talent from a young age, and has only blossomed as she grew. She specializes in lightning magic, and is also a keeper of shapes. While she has taken on many forms, her favored is that of a wolf. Due to the rather isolated life the Dalish lead, Ellana is adept at survival. She is rather neutral about hunting, but she does greatly enjoy gardening when she stays in one place long enough for it. She is a rather talented cook, can predict the weather with an unnerving accuracy, and has a knack for handling animals. Despite appearances, Ellana has a rather lovely singing voice, though she is reluctant to let others hear it. She has little talent in most instruments but can reliably drum out a beat, and is a fairly talented dancer when she deigns to learn the steps. Biography History Ellana is born to the wilds, and to the wilds she will one day return. It is the eleventh of Firstfall, a crisp autumn day, the world slowly falling to sleep. Her first moments are of joy, tears splashing against her cheek and her brother’s sticky hands grasping at hers. Adhlea and Faron Lavellan press kisses upon their daughter’s forehead, and the babe’s eyes drift open at long last. They call her Ellana for promise, for destiny, and it’s a heavy burden for a child to bear. Still--- there are worse fates. A rather easy infant, she is quiet and independent from the start, rarely wanting for anything. They think, naively, she will be just as easy of a child. But from the moment she can walk, Ellana is precocious, curious, bothersome. She wants to see, touch, know. She gets into the stores, filches tools as a game, sneaks off into the woods when her parents’ backs are turned. “Running us ragged,” her mother says, playfully tickling her sides. Ellana only laughs. As customary in clan Lavellan, Ellana is raised fairly communally. She takes her dinners with the hearthkeeper, hides amongst the trees as the hunters track her down, falls asleep in a pile with the other children. It’s an idyllic life, and she blossoms within it. She will grow old here, she knows, become a hunter or a craftsman or perhaps even the halla keeper, and die amongst the very people she has always known. She wants nothing more. Then--- her magic develops. As most things go when Ellana is involved, her magic manifests with destruction. One moment, she is fighting with her brother Mahanon over just who took down that deer, and the next, the grass around them is burned to a crisp. The Keeper hurries her away. While the other children are free to spend their days as they wish, Ellana is sequestered, days dragging on with lesson after lesson. She’d never asked for magic, never wanted to one day lead the clan. But what choice does she have? While she resents her magic at first, seeing it as little more than a burden, Ellana takes to it with ease. Always with more energy than she knows what to do with, it’s the outlet she’s so desperately needed. She throws herself into her studies with vigor, and soon enough, she’s mastering spells of more and more difficulty. In a matter of months, she becomes the First of clan Lavellan. And she finds, much to her surprise, that it feels like an honor. When she first happens across the shapeshifting spell, it seems like little more than an enjoyable challenge. Imagine, she thinks with glee, shifting into a bear in front of Mahanon! The look on his face. Perhaps if she had waited, asked the Keeper advice. But Ellana, as always, barrels ahead. It takes three months for her to turn into a wolf. She doesn’t change back for another seven. They beg, they plead, they try all manner of spells. Nothing works. When she comes back to herself at long last, she is still more wolf than woman. There is something wild about her, something near feral. They cannot let her be their future Keeper, not anymore. She becomes Second. In-game Where Mahanon goes, Ellana follows. When the Conclave explodes with him in attendance, she flees to Haven, searching for any trace, any hint of his survival. To her relief and abject confusion, she finds him alive and well--- trailing after a shemlen girl with a glowing green hand. She has no desire to follow this Inquisition, but she will not leave him in danger. She stays. While at first, she does little more than hunt and gather for refugees, the Inquisition is loathe to waste any talent in their grasp. At the prodding of Herah Adaar, Ellana begins to accompany the Herald. Easily distracted, she often leads the party astray, returning stolen rings to widows and delivering flowers to shrines in lieu of actual missions. Even so, she is chosen as delegate when the Inquisition meets with Magister Gereon Alexius. (“You’ll terrify this Elder One into submission,” Evelyn jokes. Mahanon, unable to help himself, tacks on, “Or annoy him to death.”) When the Herald is sucked into a vortex, only to be spat out a moment later babbling about time travel, Ellana is the first to listen. Strange and dangerous magic has always been her forte, after all. Perhaps she hadn’t taken the Inquisition seriously beforehand, but this future Evelyn speaks of cannot come to pass. If she can help stop it, doesn’t she have a responsibility to do so? She is at the Herald’s side during the evacuation of Haven, allows Vivienne to train her in knight enchanting, makes bets with Maxwell over just who can take down more demons. At some point, she realizes, these people have become her friends. Isn’t that odd to think of? Ellana stands with the Inquisition at Adamant, even journeying into the fade alongside the Inquisitor, Warden Alistair, and Hawke. She tries her best to be polite at the ball at the Winter Palace, though it stings to make merry on the grounds where her people were slaughtered. When they, at long last, find the Well of Sorrows, she is the one to drink from it. There is a price for it, as there is for all things, but it’s one she’s willing to pay. When the Inquisitor makes her final stand against Corypheus, Ellana stands by her side. Post-game Loyal to the end, Ellana stays with the Inquisition, even long after Corypheus has been defeated. With Divine Victoria at the helm, she is willing to work with an Inquisition under Chantry command. She marries Maxwell Trevelyan, and the two of them live out the rest of their days at Skyhold, working to better the lives of all of Thedas. Relationships Mahanon Lavellan To call Mahanon simply Ellana’s brother would be a disservice. He is her closest friend, her confidant, her partner in all things. Since the moment Ellana was born, the two of them have been side by side, and that way they have stayed their whole lives. Some days, this is a blessing. Others, it is a curse. Maxwell Trevelyan If you’d asked Ellana years ago, she would have sworn she’d never fall in love. Maxwell Trevelyan, as he is wont to do, takes her by surprise. The charming, sunny counterpart to Ellana’s colder one, Maxwell is the only person in all of Thedas who has never failed to make her smile. Miscellaneous Ellana bears the vallaslin of Mythal, the mother. She took it when she thought she’d one day be Keeper, though it didn’t seem to fit. Ellana has never been a great protector, never been one to take others under her wing. But she has a duty, doesn’t she? Perhaps if Mythal is there every time she peers in a mirror, she will be reminded of what she must be. 'Links' Reddit Headcanon Threads: Reddit Writing prompt Threads: Non-Reddit links (AO3, DeviantArt, Tumblr): Gallery Ellana_Maisie2.png Category:Capulets